What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

[mojobone]

Tonight's Taxi TV was on the 80/20 rule or the Pareto Principle There's lots of great and very useful information, so you should go watch it, before reading the following, just so we're all on the same page.


What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

It's fine. It's good, and as a measure and means of focusing one's energies and managing one's time, a commodity in short supply which no one is making any more of, it's a perfectly reasonable and useful tool. It breaks down when you get to specifics. Worse, when you begin discussing percentages, people think you're talking about odds. No bueno.

For example, if 20% of Taxi members make 80% of the money made through Taxi, how many new Taxi members is it gonna take to bump me into the top 20% if my music is in say, only the 75% range of quality, as compared to the membership, as a whole? What if 80% of my music is signed with the 80% of publishers who earn only 20% of the income? By what percentage would I then be screwed?

You see my point, which is that the bar is getting higher every month, in terms of the quality of music that can be made vs. the budget thereof, and there's new technology in the pipeline, as we speak. If you're 75% as good as the best available, how well do you really think you can do? Do you focus on the quantity of the music you can sell, or the quality of music that you're capable of?

Put another way, maybe 20% of the plugins you bought are used in 80% of what you record, so if you knew beforehand which ones you'd be using, you'd have only bought those, right? Is there a plugin that makes you faster at nailing a take? Is there an iPhone app that lets a publisher find the top twenty cues? Think about it.

[Len911]

I haven't watched yet, though I will.

I agree with you it breaks down when you get to specifics. From what I read on Wiki, it sounds more like they are discussing capitalism primarily. The business part about 20% of the people being 80% of the problems?? The problem is that that is all that is known. It could be that the 20% are the most loyal or more in need of the business, and the other 80% are just a constant flow of turnovers that find dissatisfaction, leave and never come back. The wealth distribution problems in a capitalist society depend primarily on the rules such as taxes and what is taxed, and how much democracy exists in the workplace and the rest of society. The "New Deal" began with 94% tax on anything over $25,000 if I remember correctly, now what's it down to? And pretty darn near all property is taxed with the exception of stocks, bonds, cash, which the wealthy have a disproportionate share, so the 80/20 rule in that case doesn't depend on divine providence, just about who makes the rules,lol! And of course the laws are biased in favor of those enacting them.

In a recent taxi episode, there was talk of "refreshing" or updating the tracks to make the sounds, etc more contemporary. How does that bode for the 5 year plan? Also there was talk of the abundance of more material in the libraries which dilute the pool. The dynamics are constantly changing, I mean the 20% could be the same percentage, but different individuals. A closer comparison might be the Billboard top 10, it's not always the same people time after time, eventually there is a complete turnover. Okay I'll go watch,lol!

[Len911]

80% of the yields came from 20% of the pods? Bigger pods equal more peas, and a study at OK State, found that peas growing 4inches apart produced 23% more yield than peas growing just 2 inches apart. 80/20/+23??
It could be that 20% of the pods got more sun than the 80% pods. But I don't think Pareto was a horticulturist, more of an economist. It could have been that if his economic theory was 60/40 that 60% of the yields came from 40% of the pods??

I remember I saw on one of the earliest taxi tv episodes, that a guest said that all you need is one hit.
If that's true, I don't know, maybe things are different, but how many years, uses and income would be needed to equal one hit song, and depending on the answer perhaps a case could be made to spend the rest of your life on that one hit song? Maybe not, because it depends if you get the hit next month or the day before you die,lol!

My computer ran out of virtual memory, so I couldn't watch but a small segment, about 33%, so I didn't get far enough in to find out how the pareto principle can be applied. Will watch more later.

In greyhound racing, I suppose the backbone of the kennel was the dogs, usually a little older that were always in the money, not so much the grade, versus the ones that won a C race, moved up to B, did nothing for 3 races and dropped back to C, and start the whole thing over. I wouldn't say however that 20% of the dogs were 80% of the income, though I suppose you could cause it to be that if you shuffled dogs around from different kennel locations to achieve that maybe.

Perhaps it's the Pareto Conundrum?

[Len911]

Tonight's Taxi TV was on the 80/20 rule or the Pareto Principle There's lots of great and very useful information, so you should go watch it, before reading the following, just so we're all on the same page.


What I Don't Like About The 80/20 Rule

It's fine. It's good, and as a measure and means of focusing one's energies and managing one's time, a commodity in short supply which no one is making any more of, it's a perfectly reasonable and useful tool. It breaks down when you get to specifics. Worse, when you begin discussing percentages, people think you're talking about odds. No bueno.

For example, if 20% of Taxi members make 80% of the money made through Taxi, how many new Taxi members is it gonna take to bump me into the top 20% if my music is in say, only the 75% range of quality, as compared to the membership, as a whole? What if 80% of my music is signed with the 80% of publishers who earn only 20% of the income? By what percentage would I then be screwed?

You see my point, which is that the bar is getting higher every month, in terms of the quality of music that can be made vs. the budget thereof, and there's new technology in the pipeline, as we speak. If you're 75% as good as the best available, how well do you really think you can do? Do you focus on the quantity of the music you can sell, or the quality of music that you're capable of?

Put another way, maybe 20% of the plugins you bought are used in 80% of what you record, so if you knew beforehand which ones you'd be using, you'd have only bought those, right? Is there a plugin that makes you faster at nailing a take? Is there an iPhone app that lets a publisher find the top twenty cues? Think about it.

As the pool becomes more dilute, and the quality of the taxi membership as a whole, I would speculate that the percentage of people would increase, or revert to the mean, if that's the proper theory. Eg., 50% make 80%, 45% make 95%... It doesn't seem likely that the percentage would go down. Quantity and quality don't necessarily move in tandem. You should probably focus on what makes you happiest and find the most rewarding for whatever makes you happy and gives you a better sense of satisfaction, whatever music does that, and that is entirely the individual determination,

Assuming the other 80% of the plugins were never used, I would agree, however if the other 80% of the plugins were used in the 20% of what you record, and especially if the 20% that made 80% of the income, I'd disagree,lol!!

[DesireInspires]

Too much analysis for me. I would just focus on making a lot of music in the genres that sell. Pop, hip-hop, electronic, country, and mainstream rock are always in demand. Making those songs with good quality and great production tricks helps to bring in money.

Of course one could always specialize in orchestral music. But without an orchestra, most people are going to fall short of the mark.

[Casey H]

Great show last night on the 80/20 concept. I still have to go back and watch the later part of the show-- got distracted.

It's definitely great advice to look where you've had the best payback per energy expended. "Payback" can be forwards, library deals, or actual placements.

Of course, nothing is cast in concrete and ALL advice must be evaluated in terms of your personal situation and goals. For example:

(1) For some who are just starting out, they may need more time (even years) before they really know where 80% of the payback comes from. (But they can look at statistics as to where most successful people make their money)...

(2) If you try to do something you absolutely hate, you won't be good at it. So, let's say, you love writing vocal songs and hate cranking out tons of reality TV instrumentals. Switching to spending most of your time churning out those instrumentals won't be for you.

All in all, it *IS* very important to decide how best to target your energy. Too many genres, libraries who ask a lot but don't return much, etc. can derail your goals. This Taxi TV was a solid reminder to take a good look at what you are doing and possibly refocus.

Thanks ML for the show!

Casey

[Kolstad]

.. but what then after you have responded accordingly to the 80/20 challenge, and have specialized in the genre you've sold the most of. Does the "Pareto principle" then not apply anymore?

I get the principle can be a valid strategy in optimization efforts, but seems to me you cannot always predict which 20% of your portfolio will succeed. So you still need to produce the other 80% for the principle to apply, or am I missing some of the math? (wouldn't be the first time)

Or is it just used as a kind of rhetorics to say "go with the flow"/ "don't make things harder than they have to be"? Which I understand, but does not display by this post

[JamesCarvalho]

i think ( and, maybe i'm off ) but, i think the "Pareto principle" is really 2% of the message that Michael is always trying to convey globally.

i read all the the mind boggling thoughts and point of views and pardon if i dumb it down FOR ME.

So, i'm starting to get the trend over the last few taxi tv episodes that Michael seems to be expressing the simple need to "motivate" members to just write more in volume (more more more)

in last mondays (i think) episodes john fulford thoughts resonated for me, specifically the need for volume , not to pitch two or three songs (the old mentality from the 70-80"s) but have a 100 cues or songs ready, increasing your success rate by a 1000% ish. (ahhh, from the publishers view thats great!!) but that's easier said than done.. but seems soo real

perhaps the industry has evolved, i read a book once about the music business and also heard from many people for years and years,,, NEVER, submit more than three songs. but now i'm getting a more "contemporary" message.. perhaps this (old school mentality ) is kiss of death for us old goats.

it appears to me many early 30 somethings are prominent as supervisors, and library owners and they may just change the game with gorilla marketing tactics.

in the last episode we listened to a couple of fulfords cues and michael talked about them briefly...i could have really been over thinking cue's. it was a quick effective message for me.. and some have the capacity to write 10 a day like our forum buddy matt..

but most people dont always really hear the messages i guess..

in robins episode again, its reminded me of Michaels global message, when it was said to take the songs you wrote and write them 2-3 different ways use the same template (a simple exercise ) .. this is great advise..i think i get it

i only hope i start using this advise ASAP. i suppose i COULD use some cred in the music business gotta start somewhere. i'm glad to know and learn from many of you.

that's my view from the sofa

[LittleRedChurch]

So why don't we ALL start writing hillbilly hip hop cues? I'm sure the market could handle another couple of hundred thousand of them! At, say, 30 cents a cue I'm sure it'll be in no time that a few of us break even...

Do what you do well, says I!!

[mojobone]

in last mondays (i think) episodes john fulford thoughts resonated for me, specifically the need for volume , not to pitch two or three songs (the old mentality from the 70-80"s) but have a 100 cues or songs ready, increasing your success rate by a 1000% ish. (ahhh, from the publishers view thats great!!) but that's easier said than done.. but seems soo real

perhaps the industry has evolved, i read a book once about the music business and also heard from many people for years and years,,, NEVER, submit more than three songs. but now i'm getting a more "contemporary" message.. perhaps this (old school mentality ) is kiss of death for us old goats.

Naw, you should still submit no more than three, but if something pops and they want more, it's good to have them already in the can. And nobody's saying that you shouldn't submit three if you don't already have a hundred, only that production libnraries tend to think in terms of a hundred similar cues; they don't have to be from the same writer/producer....but they could be. In fact, it's maybe not such a good idea to write a hundred similar cues, until you know there's a market for them; basically what Casey said.